Fence-post.



B. ANDERSON.

FENCE POST.

APPLICATION men JUNE 18. 1911.

1,276,853. Patented Aug. .27, 191 s.

nnooxn annnnsoitfo CHICAGO, ILLINQIS, ASSIGNOR TO CHICAGO STEEL PG ST COM- PANY, OF C ICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

FENCE-POST.

ful Improvements in Fence-Posts, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates particularly to metallic posts, and has for'its object the provision of a device of this character which shall be of improved construction, more eflicient I in operation, and which may be more easily installed than devices of a similar nature previously known.

The inventionis exemplified in the combination and arrangement of parts shown 'in' the accompanying drawing and described in the following specification, and it is more particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 1

In the drawing Figure 1 is an elevational view of a post embodying the present invention shown in position in the earth.

.Fig. 2 is'a detail view of the lower portion of the post shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan "iew of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section ,on line 44 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a detail in perspective of the lower end of the post.

In modern fence building it is usual to employ metal posts formed of angle iron of that of the plain right angle bar as illustrated in the drawing. In order that posts of this character maybe more readily driven into the earth it is customary to sharpen the lower end of the post in some manner. As a result of this sharpening it hasbeen found that it is diflicult to drive posts of certain sectional shapes so that they shall remain upright during the-driving operation. I have discovered that this dificulty is due to the fact that the surface formed by the shearing operation by which the end of the post is pointed tends to deflect the lower end of the post from a straight line during driving in cases where the post is of certain shapes in cross-section. This fact is well exemplified in a post of right angular section like that of the drawing in which the numerals 10 and 11 respectively designate the two webs of an angle bar post. These webs are sheared off at the bottom end of the Specification ofLetters Patent.

post to form a point 12 at the apex of the angle formed by the union of the two webs. It has been customary to shear the webs in planes perpendicular to their lateral surfaces, and where this is done it will be readily understood that when the post is driven into the earth the pressure on these sheared surfaces acts in a direction normal to the surfaces, and hence in the plane of the webs and'toward the apex 12. The resultant of the forces on the sheared portion of the two webs 10 and 11 will lie in a plane bi-secting the angle between the two webs, and hence as the post is driven into the ground the pointed end gradually leaves a straight course and turns outwardly toward the corner formed by the union of the two webs. To avoid this difiiculty in my present invention instead of shearing the webs in a plane perpendicular to the surfaces, I cut the bottom portions of the webs in a manner to form a beveled surface 13, having the lower portion 14 sharpened to form a cutting edge which readily enters the earth. The beveled surfaces 13 are preferably so formed that they will intersect a horizontal plane, passed through them as on line 4-4 of Fig. 2 in lines parallel with one another, and wlth the bi-sector of the angle formed by the sides of the post 10 and 11. It will, of course,-'be understood that this exact arrangement. is not necessary for the accomplishment of beneficial results, but it is the arrangement which'I now "deem to be the best manner of carrying out my invention. If a post so formed is driven into the ground, the earth will exert pressure upon the beveled surfaces 13 of the two webs, but the horizontal component of the pressure on each of these webs will, of course, be perpendicular to the line in which the surface is intersected by a hori- -zontal plane, that is, in the direction of the arrows 15 and'16 in Fig. 4: of the drawing.

It will now be seen by an inspection of this figure that these two components act in opposite directions, and hence entirely neutralize one another so that as a result Patented Aug. 27, 1918. application filed June 18, 1917. Serial No. 175,826.

there is no tendency to shift the point of the Y in driving, and since in the present invention these surfaces are arranged so that the lateral thrust is neutralized, it follows that there is no force exerted on the lower end of the post tending to deflect it from its true course. This arrangement also provides a sharp cutting edge which is presented to the earth as the post is driven downwardly which greatly facilitates the ease with which the post enters the ground.

As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing I preferably provide a tri-angularly shaped anchor plate 16 attached to the lateral face of one of the webs of the post and lying in the plane of the fence which the post supports. The anchor plate, as shown in the drawing, is positioned below the surface of the ground line to permit of a cushioning effect of theearth above the anchor upon the post itself. It will be understood, however, that the principles of my invention may be applied to posts of various constructions other than that illustrated in the drawing.

I claim:

1. A post comprising plates or webs arranged at an angle to one another and having their lower edges cut away at an angle to the vertical and in a plane at an obtuse angle to the plane of said webs thus forming beveled surfaces on the outside faces of said webs at the lower end of said post and sharpened cutting edges which are presented to the earth when the post is driven.

2. A post comprising webs or plates arranged at an angle to one another and having their lower edges cut away at an angle to the horizontal and also at an oblique angle to the plane of said webs forming beveled surfaces on the outside .faces of said webs and so related to one another that the forces exerted upon said surfaces by the pressure of the earth during downward movement of the post shall be opposed to one another so that the tendency of such forces to deflect the post from a downward course shall be neutralized.

3. A fence post comprising an iron angle made up of webs arranged at right angles to one another, the lower portions of said webs being Cut y t an angle to the horizontal It 4. A fence post comprising an angle ironcomposed of webs arranged at right angles to one another, said webs being cut away at the bottom end of said post to form a pointed end for entering the earth, the planes on which said webs are out being arranged.- to form beveled portions on the'outer faces of said webs with the cutting edges at the inner sides of the webs, said beveled portions being so related to one another that their intersections with a horizontal plane passing through them form lines substantially parallel with one another.

5. In metallic fence posts, an angle bar having the webs thereof beveled at one end to form cutting edges to be presented to the earth in driving, the planes of the bevels being arranged to intersect horizontal planes passed therethrough in lines substantially parallel to one another.

6. In metallic fence posts, an angle bar having. the websthereof cut away at one end to form a point for entering the earth,'the planes of the cuts being arranged to form edges beveled inwardly from the outer surfaces of the webs and rearwardly in a direction away from the apex of the angle in which the webs meet one another.

7. In combination, a fence post comprising plates or webs arranged at an angle of substantially ninety degrees to one another, the lower end of said post being pointed by having the lower corners of said webs sheared away along planes which if extended would intersect one another in a substantially horizontal line when said post is held in an upright position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, on this 14th day of June, A. D. 1917.

BROOKE ANDERSON. 

